A Catholic cathedral in San Francisco installed a watering system in an attempt to soak homeless people who try to loiter and sleep near its doorways, radio station KCBS reported on Wednesday.

Saint Mary's Cathedral, which, the radio station reported, is the main church within the Archdiocese of San Francisco and the home of the archbishop, has four tall side doors which are used as sheltered nooks by homeless people in the city.

While the church has "No Trespassing" signs, the watering system doesn't come with a warning and the showers rain down throughout the night, KCBS reported.

The spigot is 30 feet up on the ceiling of the doorway alcove and when it spews water, the alcove and unsuspecting homeless people reportedly get soaked. According to KCBS, the water runs for about 75 seconds every 30-60 minutes.

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While the cathedral showers unsuspecting homeless people with water, California is currently in the midst of a serious drought during which time residents are encouraged to minimize nonessential water use.

According to an update from KCBS, the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection found that the water system violated city safety codes and issued the Archdiocese a notice to have it removed within 15 days. The Archdiocese reportedly secured a plumbing permit to have it removed.

Ha ha thread about the church, but it probably makes more sense given the severity of San Francisco's homeless situation. Because where you have homeless congregating, you've got burgeoning public health concerns.

Some fair and balanced news on the subject: http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/6400238

Well, since they're removing it I guess it's a non-story now. However, many municipalities are installing barriers in areas where homeless congregate. This example is in China:

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The city ordered them church to remove it. The church didn't do it out of the goodness of their own hearts. So it hardly qualifies as a non-story.

It raises some interesting points, such as how an institution (supposedly) dedicated to helping the poor could be so cruel to them.

I've also taken part in PRSI discussions where it was suggested that churches, charities and nonprofits should take care of the poor and not the government. Well, here you have one of the biggest churches around and they can't even offer an empty doorway to find shelter.

So this would appear to me to be anything but a non-story, and is a subject ripe with issues to discuss.

Ha ha thread about the church, but it probably makes more sense given the severity of San Francisco's homeless situation. Because where you have homeless congregating, you've got burgeoning public health concerns.

OK, no snark intended. My point was that the Church voluntarily removed with no issues so the story is complete. No doubt MSNBC and Fox will yak about it, but so what's new?

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Blech, I ignore Fox and MSNBC.

As far as I'm not the biggest fan of the Catholic Church, I have to admit I was still a bit shocked by their actions in this case. Church officials have reportedly said that they installed the sprinklers specifically for this purpose and kept them operational for a long time. Since the Church has been so vociferous about their newfound compassion for the poor, it seems to me that this deserves some discussion.

Although as far as PRSI on MR is concerned...I'd just as well watch Fox or MSNBC...

Well, since they're removing it I guess it's a non-story now. However, many municipalities are installing barriers in areas where homeless congregate. This example is in China:

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brilliant idea. reminds me of the story a cop told me the other day about the city removing crossings from a particular section of the road because there were too many accidents there. obviously people wont need to cross the road anymore.

When I was little some of the bigger catholic churches had doors open 24/7 so people didn't have to sleep on the street.

And many homeless like to sleep on church grounds for a sense of security and spiritual assurance. Being hosed down doesn't sound like a christ like action.

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Just came back from a trip along the borderlands where all religious groups work to feed and clothe homeless migrants after they're deported. Most of these operations are operating on a shoestring, so to compare the Catholicism of San Francisco's Diocese with the charity of a few dusty border towns is striking.

It raises some interesting points, such as how an institution (supposedly) dedicated to helping the poor could be so cruel to them.

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The Catholic Church, AFAICT, does not itself specifically dedicate some of its resources to helping the poor, it just has satellite groups run by Catholics doing that. And anyway, what is the point of being poor if you are not also suffering. They are making poverty suck, so that the poor will get it together and find their own bootstraps.

Just came back from a trip along the borderlands where all religious groups work to feed and clothe homeless migrants after they're deported. Most of these operations are operating on a shoestring, so to compare the Catholicism of San Francisco's Diocese with the charity of a few dusty border towns is striking.

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Not really surprising. Stuff and wealth tends to take people's minds off of piddly little things like helping others. The people who have it hard are going to be the ones helping out people who have it hard.

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